THE PEACE CALL FOR MEN

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 88, 8 January 1919, Page 8

THE PEACE CALL FOR MEN

*• , TO FILL THE OVERSEAS TERRITORIES CANADA'S NEED / , (By A. AV. Packard.) After the war, assuming: that Xew Zea- ' land is in ,a position to absorb them, will many immigrant bo attracted lo • this country, or will they succumb In the i more plausible propaganda of some of her sister Dominions? Again mnny of our soldier sons who have doubtless acquired a touch of I lie "wanderlust" mav perchance desire.(o look further afield beI fore deriding to settle down in their nntivo lnnd. Our shrewd Canadian cousins, ever on the look-out for fresh blood, hnvn probably already seized themselves of the possibilities of this situation, and will play their cards accordingly. Bevelopments along this ljne will lie interesting to watch, and, boforo long, may cpnse tho Neiv Zealand Government some ( solid reflection. Indications ore not wantin." Hint the groundwork for a vnst and comprehensive- scheme of attracting setHove of the right class has already boon laid by thn C'nnndian authorities in the very trenches themselves on tho bloodstained soil of Prance. Like tlio American, with whom he is so closely allied., tho Canadian is an inveterate "booster." Naturally oiir troops, in common with vci> soldiers of the rest of the AlHes, have come in contact with the Canadians, and one may Me it for gninfed that the pent natural resnuroen of North America. Joel nothing of their glamour in thn tolling therpof. The writer lived several years in thn north-west—the "newppt Ciuiiula"—i>nd ' it i* the purport of this prtiele to deal with the question of settlement in the land of snow nnd ice. When the adv-antapee and disadvantages of life in Canada, are weighed up against each other the ardour of aomo prospective immigrants to the big Dominion will lw. pcrnnps, if not damped at least considerably cooled. To appreciate the seriousness of Canadian competition- for immigrants in tho future, we in Australasia, must not over-' look a nw and important problem which Canada is up against.. Up to the outbreak of the wa-r there was a great influx of immigrants into Canada from Anstria and Germanv. Bussia. also sent a generous nuota. Settlers from enemy countries will, of course, no longer l>B iterated, aud.'then again. Bussin'e position is.o delicate one. not to sr.y peculiar. Taking all the factors of the Enssian situation into consideration, U -.main nppear extremely proba]>le that the door wliich has hitherto always been opened ,to the Muscovites will, in future, ~be closed. The danger of Bolshevik propagandists coupled with the faot that the great bulk of .the Russian settlers in Canada refused on account of religious beliefs to bear arms in the Allies' struggle for liberty hns made them extremely unpopular in North America. The Canadian Government had to smother • its feelings of righteous indignation, on thia score, because the Bussinns unearthed an old treaty under which they were exempted from military service. *• The Call to Anglo-Sjixons. therefore bo on the Anglo-Saxon settler that Canada will in future be largely dependent for immigration—and immigration she must have, albeit on a large ecale at that. Even during the first three years of the war over 20,000 immigrants went to Saskatchewan alone. In round figures some 50,000 of jthe flower of Canada's manhood were mowed down on the battlefield of Europe. Her manpower was still further encroached upon, for her list of wounded stands at over 200,001). Not oife of, these men can be spared. She must make up the deficiency almost immediately. The Nor'-AVestern provinces are crying out for men, and :lien more men. Even before their mailhood, was-depleted'they were short of men, and every "fall" vast, armies of labourers, recruited from all walks of life, had to be imported from the United State 3 and from Eastern Canada in order to harvest the immense crops of the western provinces. Increased production through the: settlement of etill more of her virgin country is what the Canadian ' Government nims at in order that the may successfully carry the financial bur- ■ dens entailed on her by the war. Immigration on a largo scale , will Tiave rn he embarked upon if this programme is to be carried out. - ' . ■" On papeii the Canadian Gove.rument's offer to a prospective settler .is very allni'ing. AVithont probing beneath the sui.facn of things, one is apt to conclude that it is the most attractive land settlement proposition to be 'found in the British Dominions. Any. head of n family, or mule, person over the age of 18 years, has the unalieiiable riiht to 160 ncr.es of land on payment of a filing fee of ten dollars (.£2l.' A settler may also "pre-empt" a further area of ICO acres nt a cost— which may be <'eferre.il—of three, dolln-re per .acre (12«. Gd.). A settler who tak'es up land uniler this tenure is known as a homasteader. jmtl Jjp. lias certain duties to perform if he wishes to retain his land. Provided he complies with- these ennditions he is entitled at the end of three years to a clear freehold title to his land, which title is officially described as a "patent." To begin with, the liome-eleader must commence to reside mi his land within six months of his filing on the same. Thereafter he must ■reside on his land 'for' a. period of six mojit.lis in each of the three yeare, and bnntr into cultivation each year on area •of not lew than 15 acj-es, a total of 45 anrcs in all. [u the'alternative to cultivating his land he may "prove up" hia p'-lp'-tk-M by run' Mii? ho many head of stock thereon until his tluee years ex- • nir?. Dominion grazing lenses" with a , r»n years' tenure may also be obtained. Toe mpxitmim area grunted to any one "Tson is l?.O0O (lores. Lessees must fence Hie area they obtain under lease, and must'.have one. head of horse or cattle or five sheep fo>; everv .'lO acres. Land which W not copalils of eavryinsr more than this nuii'bw of stock would scarcely app>al to New Zftalanders. It is with the wheat lands, however, that Hie. immigrant is concerned, for Western Canada is eniinen'ly.suitable for raising cereals, just as New Z*alaml is pre-eminently adapted to stonlcrnising. ... Vast Prairie Regions. As a crass country. AVostorn Canad.a pales into insignip' , ai!co alongside our own Dominion. AVestern ' ranchers, in conversation wiHi the writer, have refused to credit the foot that there is lnnd in New Zenlaud carrying a i,o\v to the :"CTe. . In (heir experience rood grazing land will v-nrfc mt. r>l nol: fivn sheep to ' Mie acre,' but fiva acres to the sheen. f?HSkat i cli o 'vi>n ami Albert.i art) the provinces'which to-day ire tha most active itv inducing immigration. Northern Saskatchewan is lipavily wooded, nnd bos scarcely been explored- yet. The Hudson Bay traders. a»d a few traupcre and prospector?, form almost the entirn white . nr.pulnlion. Tho trend of 'settlement, however, is to Kputhern Saskatchewan, i"liich' exlonds nm'thward.s from the lntcrnaf'P-"'! Boir-diTv line, borderinir the "nited States of America, to the GSilfir. This area comprises the vast prairie lands, aecreenting 8(i,828,240 ncres. Less l-hnn 20.Wi0,000 acres of this are under cultivation, .and it i-i ostium ted that of 'Tie balsncß about 40,000.000 acres are arable. The country include-! undulating prairies, wilh innuniernble lakes and ponds, rolling prairie with bluffs of noplai - and high rolling country, partly Ite.ivily 'timbered with'spr.ien nnd pine. One must accent with n "ertnin degree of scepticism, however, those 40,000,000 acres.-, • Truth to -tell, the ryes ham nlready liesn picked out of the available wheat. lniida in Saskatfliow.v.i. uml wlint i'C'ittiiis coiitiiiii-- much land which is either very' rough for wheat growing or ■ pimr .in. quality. It is lo Northern All»i'ta, then, and to "iVrw British Columbia." to what is fe'iown us tbo Pence Kivcr country, that the seekers of'Fvcs land must nowadiiys' turn, if. he wisbns In make sure of eecuring good virgin la'.'d. This is getting, pretty far north, and in mid-winter the immigrant, who lios be.un rnisod in .warmer latitudes will realise with dramatic conviction' that, ho is getting n "long, lonir way fro.n home." 'The I'caco Land Recording Division ennlnins pome, millions of acres of .tijricultural lands, some of which- have been explored, while others still 'aivoit 'he n.lvont of the explorer. Except in the vicinity of the Peace. Eiver Lnmiing, where lies the end of tho railroad sleel, easy moans of comniiiniciitiai.i arc . lucking.' travelling is difficult,' and even the Dominion UoverniueTit has in , the past actually been known to caution settlers ngaiust rashly going into a region far removed

> from convenient trauaiiorUliim nnd mar--11 kets. It has been more than onco tstiiblished that despite the intense cold of the winter, wheat can bo successfully laised in those parts of the Peaco Hive'r country already homesteaded. But until j railroads—surveys have a'iready been i made—push further north, it is * an uphill fight—bnckblocks fanning in New Zealand is child's play to it. The results in the long run iira satisfactory, for the land is good, and whent-growiiig pays in Western Canada, but only those who are. stout of heart and strong of limb can possibly hupo to win out. ' m—-